The Madras High Court on Monday dismissed as withdrawn a public interest litigation petition seeking a direction to the State government to ensure that children are not allowed to wear to schools any attire, such as hijab, which exhibit their religious affiliation.
The litigant chose to withdraw the case after the second Division Bench of Justices M. Duraiswamy and T.V. Thamilselvi pointed out that the Supreme Court was seized of the matter and therefore it would not be appropriate for the High Court to entertain such a PIL at the present stage.
Tiruppur-based advocate K. Gopinath of the Hindu Munnetra Kazhagam had filed the PIL on the ground that the fundamental right to profess religion was subject to reasonable restrictions.
In his affidavit, the litigant stated that the country was known for its unity in diversity and the State for its secular governance. He also said Tamil Nadu had a rich history of according great importance to education. The legacy began with former Chief Minister K. Kamaraj and was followed by successive governments.
Since 1960s, the schools in the State had been insisting upon a uniform dress code for all children in their respective institutions in order to ensure equality. However, in many schools, students do not adhere to the dress code strictly and wear add-on clothing such as Hijab and other religious attire, the petitioner said.
He claimed that such attire disturbed the decorum in a learning environment. “Ours being a civilized society, no person in the name of religion, culture or the like can be permitted to do any act that disturbs public peace and tranquility,” the litigant said and sought to ban the use of such add-on clothing.
